From Dialectical Delinquents:
This page will be subject to regular updates, most notably in the chronology , but also in giving references to interesting texts. So far (22/8/15), in addition to the chronology , Iâve only put in a couple of minor personal experiences related to prison which follows the chronology, and
some other reading material , which will be added to bit by bit. But I wanted to put this out in time for this weekâs âsolidarity with anarchist prisonersâ.Â
This is dedicated to Keith LaMar, who in 1993 took part in a prison uprising which united blacks with white ânazisâ 1 against the prison system, in which 9 prisoners and one guard died. Keith LaMar has just had his final appeal against the death penalty turned down, and it looks very likely that, after over 22 years, he will be murdered by the state  (look here).
Pictures of the Gordon riots in London 1780, when several prisons were liberated and the buildings set on fire
Iâve put this out as a kind of contribution to the International week of solidarity with anarchist prisoners  (23-30 August). A bit tokenistic maybe â as itâs only an internet page, but  if thereâs something going on in my part of the world (Montpellier, France) Iâll probably participate.
And whilst I really like, for instance, this from Emma Sheppard, why limit this solidarity to âanarchist prisonersâ? Though obviously people who call themselves anarchists (Iâm not one) are more in a position to express practical solidarity with prisoners who they know, do all those prisoners that they know call themselves anarchists? And on the most general level of information and propaganda, it seems  far more worthwhile to address all prisoners, considering the necessity for the abolition of prisons and of the society that requires them. Addressing only anarchist prisoners does not contribute to the necessity to overcome separations between âpoliticalâ prisoners and other class war prisoners (and the vast majority of those in prison are because of class society, especially property laws). It seems to make a hierarchy between apparently âpolitically consciousâ prisoners and others, even though most anarchists want the abolition of prisons. Which is why below Iâve listed a chronology of all prison-related riots, escapes and other things taken from my News of Opposition page, dating back to March 2013, regardless of whether they involved anarchists or not.
***
Amongst those who claim to want an anti-state revolution, there have been  some who  believe that âafter the revolutionâ there will still be specialists-in-order (anarcho-cops) and prisons. For instance,  leading Libcom admin member Fall Back once called for, âfar more complex, modern, well resourced kinds of âprisonsâ with more progressive aims than currently existâŚâcommunist prisonsâ âŚwould be a place where people had broken laws would be forcibly detainedâ. 2 To talk about communist prisons being entirely different from capitalist prisons is like saying the communist State will be entirely different from the capitalist State: here so-called âanarchismâ joins Leninism. Incarcerating anti-social leftovers of the mad alienation of class society (the recalcitrant ex-cops, ex-screws, mass-murdering politicians, mass-thieving bourgeoises, rapists, paedophiles, etc.) all in the same hellhole is obviously idiotic. If elements of communal constraint are necessary they will have nothing to do with the brutal repressive reality of prisons throughout history. To think that weâd call such forcible restraint a âprisonâ is like calling âworkersâ councilsâ (or whatever term youâd like to imagine the future fantasy society to be) âthe Stateâ or âthe governmentâ. This is not just a question of semantic terms but of a break with hierarchical notions and practices of social control. Killing scum is not the same as capital punishment. Forcible restraint is not the same as prison. A margin of rationing (where scarcity is not forced by capitalist property relations but comes about because of, for example, differences between different geographical areas) is not money. Obviously in this future possibility there will be some way of punishing people who act in ways the community theyâre part of find unbearable. But itâs not just semantics that separates, say, âgroundingâ a teenage kid from the idea of putting him/her in prison, but a general attitude that you want social relations to constantly experiment with changes that have some healthy result. If we talk about the abolition of the State that also means abolishing specialists in social control; the task of determining the methods of making it clear to people that certain behaviour is unacceptable will be the task of the whole of the anti-hierarchical community. To ground this in the past and present: what punishments have we received or given that we considered changed a situation for the good? What punishments during intense moments of class struggle have changed situations for the good? What punishments are we prepared to mete out to those we consider beyond the pale? To anyone not clogged up with dominant perspectives, prison isnât an answer to any of these.
This is a chronology of prison riots, hunger strikes and other prison-related matter taken from the News of Opposition page, going back to March 2013.
18/8/15:
Australia, New South Wales: 10 hours of freedom
17/8/15:
South Africa, Gauteng: 5 prisoners awaiting trial escape
14/8/15:
Germany, Leipzig: court spray-painted in support of prisoners
Syria, Hama: hundreds of prisoners riot against conditions ââŚfurniture and equipment ransacked and beds turned into barricades to sealed iron gatesâŚ. inmates, mostly held on terror-related charges and for joining protests against the state, took control of several major wards and ransacked prison quarters.â
Iran, Tehran: over 500 on hunger strike in new prison
12/8/15:
US, California: riot follows prisonerâs killing of Hugo Pinell, one of the San Quentin 6 politicised prisoners of 1971, a man whoâd killed a screw Though this is pure speculation â maybe this was manipulated by screwsâŚ? And this seems to confirm something like thatâŚMore here âThis is revenge,â declared his close friend, fellow Black Panther veteran Kiilu Nyasha, on Hard Knock Radio Aug. 13. âThey hated him as much as George Jackson. They beat him constantly, kept him totally isolated for 46 years â no window, no sunlight â but they could never break him, and thatâs why they hated him. âThe only way he survived was that this man was full of loveâŚ.He participated in the hunger strikes and applauded the Agreement to End Hostilities, authored by 16 of his comrades, Black, Brown and White, and dated Aug. 12, 2012, three years to the day before he was killed. It has nearly erased racial violence from California prisons.â
10/8/15:
Palestine, Jerusalem: activists occupy Red Cross in support of hunger striking prisoner
31/7/15:
Iran, Tehran: 500 on hunger strike in new prison
29/7/15:
US, Arkansas: riot at prison causes hundreds of thousands of dollarsâ worth of improvement
29/7/15:
Eire, Dublin: prisoners take to the roof, riot ââŚtwo inmates remained on the prison roof staging a protest. They accessed the roof at around 11am, followed some time later by a linked protest at the B Yard in the west Dublin prison. Some 60 inmates in the yard refused to leave at 12pm. Prison authorities identified a core of 15 ringleaders, who âŚdemolished soccer goals and used the metal posts, along with security razor wiring, as improvised weapons.â At the same time some of the prisoners take hostage and beat up an Afghani refugee.
28/7/15:
Australia, Melbourne: another fire at prison famous for its earlier riot
24/7/15:
France, Yvelines: report of designer clothes manufacturer-cum-prisoner using his past to gain street cred and trying to calm down angry youths after constant on-off mini-riots âThis man in his thirties is known to all here. He is extremely active on social networks and in recent months has launched his clothing brand called âFor youvâ. All this from ⌠his  prison cell  where heâs been  incarcerated for almost thirteen years after a series of robberies. âMy past allows me to be credible to those kidsâ, says youv, who was given permission to organise a barbecue [presumably outside prison] âBurning cars, throwing stones at the police, I did it! And today I am in prison. And believe me, prison is not really an example. â Sitting in the middle of a group of teenagers consuming a merguez sausage or emptying a coke, the young man commands respect. The kids listen in silence, in aweâŚ. The discussion continues for several minutes. The tone is never preachy. He warns, pacifies, without pointing the finger at one youth or another. âI do not want to appoint blame, I do not want to be in a confrontation. I just use my little notoriety to make things happen in my own way, â insists youv.  An intervention that could possibly bear fruit amongst this very young audience who are not very sensitive to traditional prevention messages.â
23/7/15:
Algeria, Ouargla: youths attack courtroom and cops after arrests on previous dayâs riot ââŚComrades [of those previously arrested] ⌠moved to Ouargla Court demanding their immediate release, without further ado âŚYoung people decided to throw stones and other objects at the windows of the court in a sudden escalation of violence which sparked a forceful intervention from the security forces to deter attackers from crossing the boundary wall of the court and to protect the public building. The clashes lasted a good half hour before the youths were pushed outside the perimeter of the court which also has several banks, tax management, the headquarters of the wilaya [kind of prefecture] and the operational area of ââthe army âŚ.The authorities had to close their doors, several businesses pulled down their shutters before the street regained its composure.â
17/7/15:
Germany, Berlin: security company car burnt, culmination of other anti-political attacks on cars
15/7/15:
Argentina, Wallmapu: indigenous prisoners in Great Escape
11/7/15:
UK, London: SWP/SYRIZA meeting disrupted by anarchist prisoner solidarity group
9/7/15:
Argentina, Tucuman: 20 youths attack police station with sticks and stones, burn or smash 3 cars belonging privately to cops and 2 hijacked vehicles According to this, this attack was made by friends and family of someone who died of asphyxiation in a prison.
5/7/15:
US, Arizona: I have only one burning desire â let me stand next to your fire
4/7/15:
US, Arizona: July 4th celebrations prison-style âProblems began July 2 in the medium-security Hualapai Unit of the Arizona State Prison Complex-Kingman when inmates were ânon-compliant and caused significant damageâ in two housing areasâ
South Africa, North West: Famous 5 On Adventure HolidayÂ
2/7/15:
US: Arizona: 2nd night of riot in prison âIn Wednesdayâs incident, a small group of minimum security inmates were chasing down an inmate when prison staff intervened to stop the assault, Wilder said. The inmates assaulted the officers, and six officers suffered minor injuries.,.. it took a couple of hours to get the prisoners back to their housing unitsâŚThursdayâs incident involved many more inmates and turned into a full-blown riot involving an unknown number of inmatesâŚ. It took many hours for prison staff and Department of Corrections officers to bring the situation under control, and the prison wasnât secured until early Friday morning, Wilder said. Three guards were hurt.â
Mexico, Mexico City: prisonersâ hunger strike now in 6th day Pi writes: âA declaration on the sixth day of hunger strike of the âInformal Coordination of Prisoners in Resistanceâ by Fernando BĂĄrcenas, an anarchist jailed and accused of having burnt a coca-cola tree during a movement against the rise of metro ticket prices. What is pretty interesting is that this new declaration (several have been issued during these last days) clearly states theyâre against all prisons and the distinction between âpolitical prisonersâ and others.â See 27/6/15 for original declaration.
1/7/15:
Australia, Melbourne: thereâs no smoking ban without fire âFire crews have returned to the scene of a blaze at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall, a day after inmates rioted and lit fires at the prison. At least nine CFA and MFB crews were dispatched to the prison about 11am on Wednesday. The incident was declared over and the fire labelled âsafeâ about 12.20pmâŚFive inmates were injured when police clashed with as many as 50 armed prisoners in an operation to end the riot about 3am.  Heavily armed police used tear gas, the dog squad and other tactics to quell the riot. Rampaging inmates lit fires, rammed an exit door, and penetrated a control room after guards came under attack at 12.20pm on Tuesday at the prison, 20 kilometres west of Melbourne. âŚGuards first came under attack at 12.20pm on Tuesday. Up to 300 inmates are believed to have been involved in the riot, but many surrendered to police or prison staff as the situation escalated. More than 100 were still on the loose in the centre at nightfall. They had armed themselves with makeshift weapons found in prison workshops, including metal bars and planks of woodâŚ.Several vehicles were believed to have been torched in the rampage, while a fence that divided rival outlaw motorcycle gangs was ripped down at the prison, 20 kilometres west of Melbourne.â More here. âHeavily-armed police quelled a riot involving up to 300 inmates at an Australian jail on Wednesday over the introduction of a smoking ban, with a handful of prisoners injured. Melbourneâs Metropolitan Remand Centre remains in lockdown after the 15-hour disturbance when doors were smashed, fires lit and some inmates armed themselves with sticks and iron bars from the jailâs agricultural sheds. Three prison staff received minor injuries and five inmates were taken to hospital, some with dog bites, after police moved in during the early hours of the morning, reportedly using tear gas. Brett Collins, a former prisoner and spokesman for Justice Action, an advocacy group targeting abuse of authority, called the ban âbullyingâ and âa denial of their rightsâ. âPeople are just totally outraged⌠they have very little to loseâ Nearly $8m. worth of damage to state infrastructure âThe protest⌠has on Thursday been described as causing the biggest damage bill from a jail outbreak in AustraliaâŚ.âEverything in there is destroyed, including prisoner files over 20 years old,â the source said. âFrom what I understand, there is not one thing in that prison that didnât get broken. I think it was well thought out.ââ This report shows that authorities knew that prisoners would riot
30/6/15:
Australia, Melbourne: 300 prisoners riot against smoking ban
27/6/15:
Mexico, Mexico City: prisonersâ hunger strike by the âInformal Coordination of Prisoners in Resistanceâ begins Very rough translation:
âToday, June 27th, a hunger strike of several prisoners in different prisons of Mexico City has begun. Strike demands focus onâŚtorture and abuse in prisons and the actions of the Commission on Human Rights in the City, the institution which is the prison authoritiesâ accomplice . Likewise the business conducted with inmates through their sexual exploitation is denounced.
Beyond the differences in methods and strategies (for us prison should not be improved or reformed, but it must be destroyed), in solidarity with the comrades in struggle they âŚcall upon all related organizations, groups and individuals to express solidarity.
Collective Hunger Strike
Informal coordination of Prisoners  in Resistance.
For the following demands:
1) Cease the abuse and torture in all prisons either by word or deed.
2) Termination of the silent repression exercised by the institution in collaboration with the CDHDF (Human Rights Commission of the Federal District)
3) For the people to stop all contact with jailers and / or officials who have been denounced for mistreatment.
4) Total rejection of the austerity measures that are being implemented worldwide, in prisons by various tendencies of economic and political interests.
5) Application of the  Istanbul Protocol on torture to all inmates.
6) Clarification and withdrawal of penal article 148/201H from the sentenced comrade  Jose Santiago Hernåndez who was sentenced and imprisoned for eight months before reaching his age of majority.
7) That due respect and consideration to the families of the prisoners when they are in the prisons is maintained.
8) No more illicit enrichment, based on the exploitation of prisoners.
9) No more illicit enrichment by officials based on the sexual exploitation of women and men interned in prisons.
10) Breaking the relationship of complicity between the administration and the medical unit; no more neglect and inhuman treatment.
11) Open more opportunities for cultural recreation and artistic projection and paid work for prisoners; the few that exist are elitist ââand conditioned by the administration.
12) Waiver of staff who actively shapes the Technical Board in all prisons in Mexico City and generate the necessary mechanisms to eliminate corruption and authoritarianism of management and custody.
13) Let us not be judged or repressed for the activities that we protest about because we have always been incited by the malfunction of the penal institution.
14) No more violations of personal data and correspondence for the purpose of extortion, kidnapping, intimidation and confiscation of information material.
Also we denounce the confinement and incommunicado detention that is practiced against fellow prisoner Jessi Alejandro MontaĂąo and weâll carry out a day of struggle and resistance to make our mark against ignorance and our rejection of prison authority. Side by side with our brothers and sisters,  face to face with the enemy!â
23/6/15:
21/6/15:
Belgium, Nivelles: 7 prisoners in rooftop protest âTheir anger is linked to the recent arrival of a fellow prisoner, who enjoys the favours of the prison governor.â
18/6/15:
Canada, Ontario: 6 hour riot in maximum insecurity prison â Inmates at the maximum security facility in Penetanguishene, Ont., erupted into a random riot Thursday, destroying meal hatch doors, cell doors, phones, duct work and garbage bins in a six-hour incident that was only resolved when a tactical team used pepper spray.â
French Guyana: 2nd prison mutiny in 2 days Prisoners refuse to return to their cells, demand improved health conditions (there are rats and coackroaches in the cells), more interesting social activity, end of abuse by guards. More prisoners (189) in protest  than Tuesdayâs (see 16/6/15).
17/6/15:
Trinidad & Tobago, Arouca: prison riot âFive officers were badly beaten ⌠Officers were stabbed and one officerâs teeth were broken. T&T Guardian was informed that the prisoners were in possession of weapons crafted by the prisoners. These include shanks made out of tooth brushes and metal objects. The prisoners have barricaded themselves in an area in the prison. The officer said the prisoners have created shields to prevent the officers from harming them if the riot police were to enter. âŚmany prison officers do not want to engage with the prisoners because they fear for their lives. Members of the Riot squad are standing by at Golden Grove to assist if prison officers are unable to contain the situation. A prisoner informed T&T Guardian that the riot ensued following an incident where the prisoners were soaked with water and an Imam was badly beaten inside the prisonâ
16/6/15:
14/6/15:
UK, Rutland: 6 hour riot by about 100 prisoners âUp to 60 prison inmates attacked officers and started fires during a six hour riot at the weekendâŚIt would appear there were over 100 prisoners involved in the riotââŚâŚMore here âA prison officer has been hurt in a riot in Rutland involving scores of inmates. Police and fire crews were called in after small blazes were lit during the disturbance. Order was not restored until screws specially-trained in brutal methods of inflicitng pain intervened. The defender of ruling class âjusticeâ who was assaulted was treated in hospital and discharged on Sunday night, while four prisoners were taken to hospital  after a savage beating, and two screws were treated for smoke inhalation.  Around 30 inmates have been transferred to other prisons far away from friends and relatives to be beaten by cowards in uniform. A Prison Service PR manipulator said: âA serious incident of insubordinate lack of servilitiy  on one wing at HMP Stocken was resolved by a specially trained gang of ruling class protection racketeers. âŚ.â [translated from the original Massmediatese]
13/6/15:
US, Missouri: 31 railway wagons carrying coal derailed  â part of solidarity with anarchist prisoners, apparently (see discussion below this latter article on how useful/stupidly dangerous such actions are/could be)
12/6/15:
Belgium, Brussels: arson attack on prison building company
9/6/15:
France, Val dâOise: small deliberate fire, screws attacked, in prisonâŚLimoges: 10 Eurovia-Vinci construction engines destroyed by arson Damage is estimated at over a million euros.  Threats have been made and sent to various companies involved in building the airport of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Among the listed companies, there were Eurovia and Vinci. Vinci is particularly involved in the construction of prisons.
Limoges
8/6/15:
Thailand: prison revolt; 1 prisoner killed, 5 guards injured, as prisoners protest overcrowding etc.
7/6/15:
Kyrgyzstan, Bishtek: prison riot over failure of doctor to turn up
Brazil, Rio: 2 die in prison riot over overcrowding More here âThe riot broke out in the Governador Valadares prison of the Minas Gerais state during visiting hours on Saturday morning and ended after a 21-hour standoff, leaving two inmates dead, according to the local Social Defense Secretariat. During the incident, a group of inmates broke security railings and invaded administration offices to protest the overcrowding of the prison, which, with a capacity for 290, holds some 800 inmates. In the end police launched an operation to regain control, using tear gas bombs and a helicopterâ
6/6/15:
âŚBedfordshire: fence round Yarls Wood prison for migrants torn down
US, New York: 2 prisoners have a nice day
31/5/15:
US, Florida: riot in teenage girlsâ detention centre âOne of the girls managed to steal keys from a member of the detention staff, enabling them to open doors inside the facility and allowing the other defendants to engage in multiple counts of batteryâ
28/5/15:
27/5/15:
Brazil, Caruaru: 2 teenagers killed in mattress-burning riot at prison for juveniles
France, Paris: JCDecaux (company collaborating in prison building) truck burnt out
26/5/15:
France, New Caledonia: prison riot following suicide
19/5/15:
US, California: 200 prisoners riot (not at all clear what this was about or what happened)
16/5/15:
UK, Wrexham: engines of construction equipment for site of proposed new prison (Europeâs 2nd largest) destroyed âThe mega-prison, if built, will cage more than 2100 human beings at any one time. Multiple large diggers and construction equipment had their engines destroyed. Slogans were sprayed on the half-built prison fences including âFuck Lend Leaseâ and âFire to the Prisonsâ. This is a warning to any company large or small that that is involved in the North Wales Prison Project, or any other prison building scheme that the state initiates. You are a target and you will feel the venom of the working classes fighting back.â
13/5/15:
Russia, Bashkortostan: 2nd prison riot against phoney enquiry into 1st âMore than 100 inmates held at a maximum-security prison in the city of Salavat in Bashkortostan, also known as Bashkiria, broke windows and wreaked havoc, some of them climbing onto the roof on the security guardsâ dormitoryâ
11/5/15:
Zimbabwe, Harare:  prison riot, 5 dead (no real information here)
10/5/15:
US, Nebraska: prison riot as 2 prisoners are found deadâSeveral disruptions followed in various housing units, resulting in small fires and property damage, prison officials said. âŚÂ âThe inmates have taken over the prison.â More hereâWeâve pretty much taken the whole prison,â Frank told the newspaper. He said that no prison employees were inside the housing unit and described the scene, saying: âThe ceilings are fallen. Thereâs drywall on fire. Thereâs cameras torn down,â according to the Journal Star.Foster told the Omaha World-Herald that inmates had gained access to an office with a phone. At some point during the disturbance, a second inmate was injured by a rubber projectileâ
9/5/15:
Iraq, Baghdad: prison riot â 6 cops & 30 prisoners dead; 40 escape
6/5/15:
Russia, Nizhny Novgorod: riot of prisoners with TB ââŚat least one prisoner has been killed and 15 injured as a result of a riot at a prison facility for inmates with tuberculosisâŚeight inmates were seriously injuredâŚ.Authorities said about 100 inmates set fire to two facilities on May 6, smashed security cameras, broke furniture, and attacked other prisonersâŚ. tuberculosis-afflicted prisoners have been forced to work up to 12 hours a day there.â
4/5/15:
US, California: prison riot (no context for this riot) More here
28/4/15:
US, Seattle: juvenile prison construction truck burnt in solidarity with Baltimore
Lebanon, Beirut: prison riot ââŚAsked about what triggered the riots, he replied: âThe inhumane overcrowding at the block is one of the reasons.â The block is harboring 1,100 prisoners, while it only has the capacity for 400, he revealed.  âŚ. âThe riot is over and it will not reoccur,â he pledged. The first riot at block D took place on Friday where inmates seized the master key at the facility and opened all doors at the building. They also briefly held hostage a number of officers. Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanonâs overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks and escalating riots in recent years as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.â
15/4/15:
US, Ohio: partial victory for prison hunger strikers
7/4/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists torch cars, fight cops in movement supporting anarchist prisoners (video here â tasteless, horrifying, shocking, nauseating âŚbut thatâs enough about the music â the video is interesting) âDeputy Citizen Protection Minister Giannis Panousis requested Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsiprasâ intervention in order to address the riots issue, while he even hinted that he may resign if Tsipras does not take any action. âThe Prime Minister must decide which side he wishes to support and which he will leave behind,â he said. Panousis also stressed that the anti-authoritarians want someone to die so that they will be able to repeat the episodes that occurred in 2008 after the death of Alexis Grigoropoulos.â
1/4/15:
Greece: various public buildings occupied by anarchists in different parts of the country âAround 20 people entered the courtyard of the parliament building in central Syntagma squareâŚ. they left after about five minutes. They scattered flyers and chanted slogans including for the immediate release of âXirosâ. Savas Xiros is serving multiple life terms for his role in the November 17 group, which killed Greek, US and British diplomats before being dismantled in 2002. âŚProtesters also called for the end to high security prisons, which the new Syriza government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has vowed to scrap. Small groups took over Syriza offices in the southern town of Patras, the office of a governing lawmaker in the Cretan capital Heraklion as well as the town hall in a suburb of AthensâŚProtesters also occupied part of a university in Thessaloniki, Greeceâs second city, and have been occupying the offices of one of Athensâ main universities since Monday.â (video here) It should be pointed out that there are many currents of âanarchismâ in Greece, including Leninoid-type shitheads who totally oppose looting. Also, see this mainstream journalistic take on these occupations ââŚthere are signs government patience with the protests is finally wearing thin. The prolonged seizure of the Athensâ administrative building since March 30 prompted exasperated employees to stage a march last Wednesday outside their occupied offices. âŚâThis hasnât happened for years now â not in this manner,â said university vice-rector Thomas Sphicopoulos of the occupation. âWe canât work, and the university was already in a very difficult situation due to budget cuts.â Other demonstrating employees were more pointed in their anger at the government for not intervening. âWhere is the respect for liberty, and where is the state?â fumed one university staffer who asked to remain anonymous.â
A friend in Greece wrote, referring  to the above link: âThe demonstration of the âexasperated university employeesâ against the main university occupation mentioned in the link you sent was actually very small. Most of the employees were  either indifferent or supportive of the anarchists (without taking  part in the occupation).âÂ
30/3/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists occupy Athens University as part of anti-prison movement
28/3/15:
Greece, Athens: another riot in support of hunger striking prisoners
18/3/15:
Australia, New South Wales: small riot at detention centre âThursdayâs resolution to the disruption inside the centre came after several days of rising tension. TVs were ripped from wall mountings and at least one fire lit in a rubbish bin.â
UK, Doncaster: report showing that riot squad was called to Doncaster prison 8 times last year
17/3/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists confront riot cops in support of anarchist hunger strikers in prison
16/3/15:
US, Florida: small riot in juvenile prison
13/3/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists occupy Athens Law School in support of prisoners
Zimbabwe, Harare: prisoners set fire to part of maximum security prison; 3 screws hurt
11/3/15:
Honduras, Tegicigalpa: 3 prisoners killed by cops etc. during prison riot âAbout 400 officers and military troops sent to the San Pedro Sula prison to restore order were met by gunfire from within the facility and pelted with stones and other projectiles, said a spokesman for the Honduras National Policeâ
10/3/15:
Bahrain: report in April of a prison riot on this day and its  horrendous consequences
9/3/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists leave Syriza HQ, having occupied it in support of anarchist prisonersâŚanother anarchist joins hunger strike
UK, Durham: mini-riot in young offenders prison ââŚinmates reportedly began throwing pool balls and lighting fires during the disturbanceâŚ.prison guards had to withdraw because of the troubleâŚ.âThe prisoners began throwing pool balls at them. A couple of inmates were injured and also a considerable amount of damage caused.â
8/3/15:
Greece, Athens: anarchists take over Syriza HQ in solidarity with hunger striking prisoners (more here) (video here)
7/3/15:
Greece, Corinth: cops fire tear gas as demonstrators break into refugee detention camp
2/3/15:
France, Montreuil: truck belonging to prison construction company burnt
UK, London: Get Out Of Jail Free card played, then revoked
28/2/15:
UK, Swindon: riot cops pelted with missiles as they stop rave party (more here)⌠ Staffordshire: report on January prison riot
US, Nevada: Riot Of Passage youth detention centre; fires lit, 4 escape
21/2/15:
US, Texas: 100s of  prisoners make prison âuninhabitableâ after seizing part of the prison âAn official says as many as 2,800 inmates will be moved to other facilities one day after several hundred prisoners seized control of part of a federal prison in South Texas. Inmates were participating in a protest that escalated into throwing objects, burning bedding, and destroying bullet-proof tent structuresâŚIn addition, correctional officers released a âchemical agentâ to disperse the unruly crowd that were ineffective due to wind conditionsâŚ..U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross says in a statement that the Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville is now âuninhabitable due to damage caused by the inmate population.â âŚÂ a peaceful resolution may take days or weeks to resolveâŚ.The inmates being held at the facility are described as âlow-levelâ offenders who are primarily immigrants in the U.S. illegally.â More information hereâŚ.And here
Eire, Dublin: imprisoned water protesters on hunger strike (see also this nicely expressed  article)
20/2/15:
US, Texas: about 2000 prisoners âriotâ âThe disturbance began Friday morning when inmates at the Willacy County Correctional Center refused to report to work or appear for breakfastâŚsome of the prisoners were protesting medical services at the facility. The prison, located in Raymondville, about 40 miles northeast of the border town of McAllen, has been used to hold immigrant detaineesâŚSoon after that, several inmates broke out of their housing units and went out into the recreation yard. About 2,000 prisoners are believed to have joined the protestâŚOfficers deployed tear gas, and two officers and three inmates sustained minor injuriesâŚâWe are attempting to speak with the offenders to bring a peaceful solution to this incident,â Arnita said late Friday night. âThe facility remains secured with no danger to the public.ââŚEarlier in the day, the riot prompted school officials to place three nearby schools on lockdown.â More here âSpence said the situation could last the whole weekend. âItâs calm right now, but with caution,â Spence said. âIt could explode any minute.ââŚmany offenders broke out of the housing structures and went to the recreation yard. Inmates set fire to three of the 10 prison tents, causing minor damage, officials said. âŚâThereâs been some shots fired. Guards on top of the tower were firing. What they were using as ammunition, I have no idea,â Spence told the Valley Morning StarâŚ.In June 2014, the American Civil Liberties Union released a study that found inmates of these little-known prisons suffer from a lack of medical careâŚ.Prisoners interviewed by the ACLU complained of delayed medical care, guards using solitary confinement to punish those who are ill or who complained about squalid and cramped living conditions, and interference by prison officials with inmates trying to correspond with or meet with lawyers, the report says. Most of those in custody are charged either with illegally re-entering the country or with nonviolent drug crimesâ
9/2/15:
France, Bordeaux: 45 JCDecaux advertising panels smashed  (JCDecaux is a company involved directly in the super-exploitation of prisoners)
5/2/15:
27/1/15:
22/1/15:
19/1/15:
Brazil, Recife: prisoner and prison guard killed during riot âThe violence erupted in a Recife jail when an orderly protest broke down, and was brought under control only after police arrived. One officer died of a bullet wound in hospital, while details surrounding the inmateâs death were not released. âŚ.Gunfire and explosions were heard coming from inside the prison, and G1 Globo newsportal showed a helicopter with an armed official flying overhead. Brazilian jails have faced a string of riots in recent months. The systemâs 563,000 inmates make Brazilâs prison population the fourth-largest after the United States, China and Russia, according Amnesty InternationalâŚ.â
18/1/15:
Papua New Guinea: Manus Island concentration camp prisoners barricade themselves in against Australian security guard attack (see link for 14/1/15)
14/1/15:
Australia, Manus Island: report of 500 concentration camp prisoners on hunger strike
5/1/15:
UK, Liverpool: Â 3 screws get screwed
4/1/15:
Australia, Darwin: small riot in teenage prison
1/1/15:
US, Pennsylvania: teenage prisoners  riot in âadolescent treatment centreââŚSanta Cruz: anti-cop protesters smash up County Jail vehicles
Germany, Leipzig: Deutsche Bank stoned in solidarity with anarchists imprisoned in Spain
30/12/14:
Spain, Canary Islands: solidarity actions in solidarity with anarchists imprisoned in Spain
27/12/14:
10/12/14:
South Africa, Gauteng: well-crafted escapist story
9/12/14:
Greece: victory for movement of solidarity with anarchist hunger striker
Russia, Chelyabinsk: 100 prisoners riot
5/12/14:
Greece, Athens: anti-state riot in support of anarchist hunger striking prisoner (slightly absurd but kind of funny video here)
2/12/14:
Athens
28/11/14:
18/11/14:
Colombia, near Bogota: prison riot  â at least 27 cops and screws injured, 23 young offenders escape (video)
3/11/14:
France, Yvelines: premises of prison-building company destroyed in arson attack
30/10/14:
France, Rennes: several bus shelters broken, Â on demo about Remi Fraisseâs murder
One of the reasons bus shelters are constantly attacked is the fact that theyâre constructed by JCDecaux, which exploits prisoners (JCDecaux also use the bus shelters for advertising other commodities, from where they obviously make massive profits)
24/10/14:
Dominican Republic, San Cristobal: 4 prisoners killed by screws as 10 escape during riot
Turkey, Izmit: prisoners burn cells in riot
23/10/14:
Paris: various attacks on companies that exploit prisoners or are involved in attacks on immigrants
14/10/14:
Brazil, Parana  state:  prison riot/rooftop protestâŚscrews accidentally fall down stairs to the cells
10/10/14:
Nigeria, Lagos: major prison protest against  governor;  5 escaped prisoners killed ââŚÂ  five inmates of the prison who managed to escape through the fence were killedâŚ.the aggrieved inmates started agitating against the way the out going Deputy Controller managed their affairs. They reportedly accused him of being high-handed. It was learnt that during the process, the inmates started stoning their top officials, leading to pandemonium in and around the prison. Eyewitnesses said they also held some of the officials hostage before embarking on the destruction of some offices inside the prison including that of the chief warder which was looted and razed down.â (more here)
3/10/14:
UK, Kent: uninformative report of major prison riot; screw stabbed
29/9/14:
Morocco, occupied Dakhla: cops launch tear gas at protest against death of political prisoner
25/9/14:
Chile, Puente Alto: prison riot
20/9/14:
Australia, New South Wales: prison riot
17/9/14:
Bolivia: riot and massive rooftop and courtyard protest at prison against screwsâ theft of money and other belongings (video) More here and here
South Africa, Rustengerg: 16 illegal aliens escape from jail
14/9/14:
France, Paris: vehicle belonging to prison collaborator company burnt out
11/9/14:
France, Paris: van belonging to prison building and management firm burnt
3/9/14:
US, Nashville: riot in juvenile prison, 6 escape (video) âJuvenile offenders, armed with sticks and poles, busted out of their dorms. Six teens became a mob of two-dozen. Swat teams posted outside watched some rioters shoot off fire extinguishers. Others chased away and attacked unarmed guards. Two staff members were hurtâŚ. James Henry is the commissioner of Tennesseeâs Department of Childrenâs Services. He said for the second time this week, teens got loose by kicking out aluminum panels under windowsâŚ.âWhen they came out of their rooms they breached the door and they got out. They were able to knock those doors out again because theyâd done it the night before very quickly.â On Monday night, thirty-two teens escaped the same facility. They busted out of their dorms, pulled up a section of chain link fence, and ran for a nearby highway. Six of those escapees remain at large.â
24/8/14:
Brazil, Parana: prison rioters take 2 guards hostage, apparently kill 4 prisoners, beheading 2 of them âthe food is bad, there are no lawyers to work their trials, no basic hygiene materialsâ
prison rooftop protest, Parana, Brazil
21/8/14:
Australia, Darwin: tear gas used against teenagersâ mini-riot in prison
12/8/14:
US, New  York: prison riot over missed TV shows
8/8/14:
Panama: multimillionnaire fraudster trampled in prison riot
26/7/14:
UK, Retford: prison rioters take control of entire cell block
16/7/14:
Brazil, Bahia, Amargosa: after cops kill a  1 year-old girl, crowds seize the police station, take the copsâ weapons, liberate the 16 prisoners there, torch the station, then burn 30 motorbikes and 19 other vehicles âThe violence forced the police chief, judge and prosecutor of Amargosa, located in Bahia state, to take refuge in a hotel.â
14/7/14:
Belgium, Steenokkerzeel: prison riot as screws refuse to respect Ramadan fasting hours
2/7/14:
Kazhakstan: prison riot for the right not to work
1/7/14:
Greece: prisonersâ hunger strike called off
30/6/14:
Greece: more on prisonersâ struggle
27/6/14:
Israel: 1000 refugees march to Egyptian border to protest indefinite detention in prison camp
25/6/14:
Greece, Thessaloniki: burning barricades erected in solidarity with prisonersâ hunger strike
24/6/14:
Greece: hunger strike against maximum security jail  by 3800 prisoners...solidarity demoâŚhere it claims that the strike is being followed by 90% of prisoners, though I suspect thatâs an exaggeration; it also mentions that a banking agency was attacked in Volos in solidarity with the prisoners (June 6th) âŚlist of videos concerning Greek prisons
France, Pantin (93): Bouygues prison construction lorry set alight
22/6/14:
Venezuela, Caracas: very violent prison riot
20/6/14:
7/6/14:
France, Toulouse: several molotovs thrown at detention centre for expulsion of illegals
2/6/14:
Australia, Christmas Island: week-long protest by asylum seekers shut down by authorities (more here)âŚfor more about asylum seekers in Australia, see this
1/6/14:
Palestine: shops on strike in solidarity with hunger striking prisoners
31/5/14:
27/5/14:
19/5/14:
18/5/14:
France, Paris: 2 vehicles belonging to companies involved in repressive social control torched
13/5/14:
UK, Peterhead: 14 hour prison riot (more here and here)
5/5/14:
Australia, Queensland: prison riot
2/5/14:
UK, Harmondsworth: mass hunger strike at immigration detention centre
1/5/14:
Egypt: thousands of prisoners stage protests against prison conditions and âjusticeâ violations
30/4/14:
Bahrain, Sitra and Sanabis: protests in solidarity with female prisoners
22/4/14:
US, Alabama: prisoner trying to organise prison strike  âtaken out of his cell ⌠placed in solitary, without clothing or a bed, in retaliationâŚÂ â Phone warden Carter Davenport on (001) 205-467-6111 to tell him what you think of his slave empireâŚthough one has to wonder what kind of tactical considerations  this prisoner was thinking of by announcing the proposed strike on the internet before it was supposed to take place, as if it wasnât obvious that this would allow the authorities to make sure it never happened and to victimise him.
Paraguay: guards kill 2 during prison riot
17/4/14:
Australia, Albany: prison riot
US, Alabama: prisoners announce impending strike against âslave empireâ âWe decided that the only weapon or strategy ⌠that we have is our labor, because thatâs the only reason that weâre hereâŚTheyâre incarcerating people for the free labor.â (article here on some aspects of why prison rate is so high in AlabamaâŚand this IWW statement shows some of the horrendous miseries of prison life there: âThe conditions in Alabama prisons are horrendous, packing twice as many people as the 16,000 that can be housed âhumanelyâ, with everything from black mold, brown water, cancer causing foods, insect infestations, and general disrepair. They are also run by free, slave labor, with 10,000 incarcerated people working to maintain the prisons daily, adding up to $600,000 dollars a day, or $219,000,000 a year of slave labor if inmates were paid federal minimum wage, with tens of thousands more receiving pennies a day making products for the state or private corporations.â However,  it has this bizarre sentence: âthe struggle of these brave human beings is the same as the millions of black, brown, and working class men, women, and youth struggling to survive a system they are not meant to succeed within.â, which implies that âblackâ, âbrownâ and âworking classâ are separate categories., though perhaps itâs a typo â maybe they unintentionally missed out âwhiteâ before âworking classâ.
UK, Berkshire: Â riot in Broadmoor kept quiet for 9 months
16/4/14:
14/4/14:
Vietnam, Ca Mau: prison riot involving over 300 prisoners lasts 6 hours
2/4/14:
28/3/14:
UK, Northumberland: prisoners take control of part of prison wingâŚBrighton: kids given detention for going on strike during teachersâ strike
22/3/14:
UK, Doncaster: 6-hour prison riot
21/3/14:
11/3/14:
US, California: prison riotâŚWashington: imprisoned immigrants on hunger strike could be force-fed
2/3/14:
Saudi Arabia: riot in migrant workersâ detention centre (more here)Â
1/3/14:
US, Seattle: Department of Corrections graffitied with âdestroy all prisonsâ
26/2/14:
Papua New Guinea: more about the Manus Island asylum seekersâ riot (video)
24/2/14:
Greece: hunger strike by prison hospital prisoners
22/2/14:
Papua New Guinea: video of and about the imprisoned asylum seekersâ riot
17/2/14:
14/2/14:
Papua New Guinea: on the island of Manus asylum seekers  confront cops, escape from detention centre,burn part of the centre, destroy tents, smash fences (more here)
Indonesia, Aceh: 100s of prisoners riot
13/2/14:
Brazil, Pernambuco : Â prison riot against miserable conditions; 2 prisoners killed
10/2/14:
United States, Illinois hunger strikers in the prison now refuse liquid  ( see also this)
7/2/14:
United States, Georgia 1000 prisoners begin a hunger strike against the brutality of the prison guardsâŚÂ (Illinois: in another prison, there was a fairly short-lived hunger strike)
6/2/14:
Kenya , Nairobi : clashes between prisoners and screws
7/1/14:
US, Alabama: prisoners use contraband cellphones to spread their protest through the internet
6/1/14:
US, Alabama: prison protests against slave labour and insanitary conditions spread
UK, Wolverhampton: riot  in prison previously known for rooftop protest (âincident resolvedâ) âŚmore detailed  information here and here
4/1/14:
Sri Lanka: 27 prisoners in rooftop  protest
US, Alabama: protest strikes against slave labour in 2 prisons
30/12/13:
Angola: large riot in Viana jail (no further information, but this jail is notoriously brutal)
19/12/13:
US, Ohio: arrests in protests against detention of undocumented immigrants
18/12/13:
Georgia: 900 prisoners go on hunger strike
17/12/13:
Israel: 100s of undocumented African migrants flee detention centre (Sunday) to march and  demonstrate (Monday)âŚ..and next day (today) dozens of them demonstrate in  Jerusalem outside PMâs office (more here)
14/12/13:
11/12/13:
US, San Jose: prisoners go on hunger strike over visitation misery (lasts a week)
3/12/13:
US, Nebraska: protesting a policy limiting the number of prisoners allowed in the yard at one time, 33 prisoners at Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln refuse to return to their cells after dinner and set small fires in trash cans.
-KHAS TVÂ (no link)
29/11/13:
Canada, New Brunswick: rocks thrown at cops during  anti-shale gas demo blocking highway for several hours (see also this)
27/11/13:
UK, Shropshire: prisoners in rooftop protest
21/11/13:
US, Arkansas: frustrated inmates in C-Pod at Baxter County Jail in Mountain Home, Arkansas broke sprinkler heads, lights, and a window, and flooded their cells.
-The Baxter Bulletin  (no link for this)
17/11/13:
UK: report of 189 prison uprisings in 2012; screws moan about their lack of monopoly of violenceâŚÂ Itâs only by the grace of the Devil that a guard hasnât been killed âŚ.
US, Missouri: report of hunger strike by prisoners Another report (no link) said, âFifteen inmates at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri went on a week-long hunger strike to protest neglect, sanitation issues, and physical abuse by guards. Thirty-five inmates there also signed a petition in support of the strikersâ cause.â
7/11/13:
Trinidad and Tobago: prison officer killed, prisoners being starved in consequence
2/11/13:
UK, Maidstone: prison riot â screws âfeared for their livesâ (more here on the apparent pretext for this riot)âŚsmallish disturbance at Rye prison
30/10/13:
Dubai: prisoners on hunger strike
29/10/13:
Turkey: riot in womenâs prison
22/10/13:
US, Illinois: 40 prisoners at Pontiac Correctional Center go on hunger strike â A Chicago activist group says the prisoners have no heat, and theyâre being denied personal hygiene supplies. Theyâre also upset they have to pay a fee to use nail clippers shared by all inmates. Correctional officers say theyâre monitoring the health of all prisoners refusing to eatâ. Apparently a radio report said something along the following lines: âUpset over the current grievance officer, inadequate sanitary supplies, no programs for prisoners in long-term segregation, and a poor recreation environmentâŚprisoners at Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois went on hunger strike.âÂ
10/10/13:
Brazil: prison uprising repressed â at least 10 prisoners killed (some reports say that these killings were caused by gang rivalriesâŚwho knows? but this report implies that it was a mixture of both  the authorities and the gangs that did it, but claims that in the local town where the prison is situated, 7 buses were set alight in relation to this riot )
4/10/15:
3/10/13:
Canada: prisoners strike over pay cut spreads to 3 other areas
1/10/13:
Canada: prisoners go on strike against 30% pay cut (from $3 per day down to just over $2)âŚimmigrants go on hunger strike in Ontario prisonsâŚ
21/9/13:
UK, Worcestershire: stand off with screws in Hewell prison, Redditch, has riot cops called
14/9/13:
USA, Florida: riot at juvenile detention centre Officials at Gulf Coast Treatment Center juvenile detention facility in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida reported rioting youth there threw chairs, flipped tables, damaged jail property, and used a seized stafferâs radio to communicate with guards.
10/9/13:
UK, Cumbria: prison rooftop protest
9/9/13:
24/8/13:
UK, Aylesbury: 6-hour âsiegeâ as prisoners riot
20/8/13:
France: attempted prison takeover by prisoners in ChateaudunÂ
19/8/13:
US, Florida, Polk County: riot wrecks youth detention centre
18/8/13:
Indonesia, Sumatra: prison riot
USA, Florida: 18 buildings destroyed in juvenile prison riot
16/8/13:
US, California: prison hunger strike hits its 40th day
15/8/13:
10/8/13:
Greece: riot at immigration centre  âŚ. (some escaped)
9/8/13:
8/8/13:
India, Delhi: riot at juvenile prison âŚriot at Uttar Pradesh adult prison after suicide
5/8/13:
USA, Alaska: cells flooded as prisoners smash toilets etcâŚOakland: solidarity demo with Californian prisonersâ hunger strike blocks state building (more here)
Canada, Newfoundland: small riot at prison
3/8/13:
Indonesia, Jakarta: prison riot and escape attempt
1/8/13:
France: short heated prison riot
27/7/13:
USA, California: hunger striker dies after being refused medical attention
23/7/13:
Ivory Coast: prisoners riot, set fire to cells and almost kill guard; 3 prisoners killed by guards
19/7/13:
Australia, Nauru: $60m damage to asylum centre in island riot
14/7/13:
UK, Kent: riot at prison â screw stabbed and 2 others injured
11/7/13:
Indonesia, Sumatra: 200 prisoners escape after firey riot
30/6/13:
Vietnam: prison seized by prisoners for a few hours
3/6/13:
US, California: prison riot â screws kill  prisoner
1/6/13:
30/5/13:
Pakistan: prisoners destroy wall, attack screws and top bureaucrats
13/5/13:
12/5/13:
ThaĂŻland, Bangkok: attempt at prison escape and riot
6/5/13:
Uganda: prison riot and escape
13/4/13:
Guatanomo Bay: confrontations between prison guards and prisoners as hunger strikers are forcefed
7/4/13:
USA:  demo in support of hunger strikers in  Guatanomo Bay  block traffic âŚÂ hunger strikers forcefed âŚdemos
21/3/13:Â
Papua New Guinea: 49 escape as prisoners protest against conditions
18/3/13: Â Â
17/3/13:
Thailand: 400 riot cops put down riot by 50 prisoners
15/3/13:
Guantanamo Bay: prisonersâ hunger strike now in its 2nd month  (more here )
12/3/13:
Sri Lanka: massive prison hunger strike and protest on the roof
11/3/13:
Iraq: prison riot in Abou Ghraib, Baghdad
A couple of very minor personal experiences
1.
At the age of 19, I had my only very short-lived  experience of  being imprisoned.  Iâd been arrested for âinsulting behaviourâ putting on a âguerrillla theatreâ-type agit-prop play outside a school in Kings Cross, which caused a semi-riot. We were packed off to Ashford Remand Centre, even though our parents had turned up in court to put up surety for the bail which most of us had been granted (the only one of us that wasnât was a couple of years older than us, the only one of us who was from a working class background â he went to Brixton for a week before bail was granted). Ashford, though technically a âremand centreâ was no different from an ordinary prison â prison gate, barbed wire on the fencing, etc. There we were made to have a public cough ânâ drop medical inspection. In fact, this was the most humiliating moment for me â being forced to undress in a hallway surrounded by cells consisting solely of bars (no walls) and being examined naked whilst being stared at by several screws and prisoners whilst my balls were held by a doctor to see if Iâd had a hernia or something (being a virgin probably made me feel even more anxious about being naked in front of so many people).  And then made to have a semi-public bath. We then had to wear prison clothes: my trousers were far too big â I had to permanently hold them to stop them falling down (no belts allowed), and my shoes were far too small, cramping my toes.
The cell smelled half the time of piss â someone had thrown out his slpping out pot out of the cell above and the piss had hit the outward opening window, hinged at the bottom, and the piss had run back down into my cell. Â Unable to sleep due to the proximity of London airport and a railway line (though the window was too far up to look out of), plus the ever-echoing sound of slamming doors or footsteps along the concrete corridor, I somehow half-composed the following in my mind (no pens or paper and only a Western, with half the pages torn out, to read) and wrote it up properly as soon as I got out â a slightly pretentious poetic-type of attempt at something influenced by the surrealists, but which, despite its literary rhetorical style, also genuinely expresses some life-affirming emotions:
SOCIETY IS A PRISON â OPEN UP THE PRISONS!
There is no freedom for the enemies of freedom, the slaves of their hate and fear of freedom. Inside the corridors of tyranny the jackboots, the truncheons, the barred windows, the barred wire, the barbed wire, the 40 foot high double electrified fencing â are all screaming out the admittance of THEIR failure to exterminate OUR minds. Their judgements, their amnesties, their reprieves, their mercy â are the judgements, the amnesties, the reprieves, the mercy of the dead to the living â the dead beckoning the living to join them in the graveyard. Soon, from the warm comfort of their coffins, six foot under, they will wake up to find their nightmares becoming reality â obscene words painted on their gravestones, shit smeared over the epitaph, and finally their coffins disinterred and thrown into the burning streets. Soon freedom, the imagination, bruised, castrated, decapitated, buried alive in the dungeons of Pentonville and Ashford â soon, the imagination running riot, shall rise up, shatter the walls and gates, smash the locks, burn down the factories of pain and misery, and seize total power! The dictatorship of the imagination!
It was only 24 hours, but when itâs your first time in prison and youâve got no idea how long youâll be there, and youâve never known anyone whoâs been inside, it was a little worrying, though it was the boredom I remember most, because we were kept isolated for most of the time. I was so naĂŻve, I remember being really outraged at the fact that teenagers were kept in prison without bail for 6 months or more before trial, at which they were often let off. (see this, for the context of this arrest and the subsequent trial).
2. On July 14th 2013, I was in St.Louis with my daughter at a demo called the day after George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martinâs killer, was found ânot guiltyâ. This happened at the end of the demo:
So itâs pissing down and we all loudly head back toward what I somehow thought was the town courthouse, and I go first into the little vestibule banging a saucepan very noisily. Everybody else seemed a little hesitant, like Iâd stepped over an invisible barrier that everybody normally respected. But then this was the vestibule of the city jail, and not merely a courthouse as Iâd assumed. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The noise we were making was deafening, and seemed to echo into the area beyond the glass doors we were not going through. I suggested going further than the vestibule. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, urging others to join them. Ignorance is bliss. A masked guy (Zorro? the Lone Ranger? Billy the Kid?) ran in and chucked the only thing that moved â a floor mat. When he returned a bit later, and threw in some flowers that heâd just picked from outside the jail, a black woman got upset â âThis is meant to be a peaceful demonstration â Trayvon Martinâs family insisted it should be peacefulâ. What sad/mad times these are when throwing flowers is somehow thought of as not peaceful enough.
âFools rush in where angels fear to tread
Angels never go to war â they masturbate insteadâ
We then retreat from the jail as we get pushed out by armed guards. A few minutes later the courthouse is surrounded by heavily armoured riot cops with their sticks at the ready, the TV cameras reappearing for the first time since the downpour. We all go off back to our cars, and then off to a birthday party of a woman friend of my friends. She was born on July 14th, famous in France for what happened in 1789 â Bastille Day â appropriate, since weâd âstormedâ the city jail. Well, almost â the vestibuleâŚstill, it sounds good â âWE STORMED THE CITY JAIL!!! â ON BASTILLE DAY!!!!!â
â from here
Filed under: Analysis, History, Political Prisoners, Politicized Prisoners, Prisoner Strikes, Rest In Power, Uncategorized, Uprising | Tagged: 1780, abolish prisons, Agreement to End Hostilities, Anarchist prisoners, anti-state, Black Panther Party, California prisons, Class War Prisoners, Cleveland 4 Solidarity, Collective Hunger Strike, Commission on Human Rights, Dialectical Delinquents, Emma Sheppard, Fernando BĂĄrcenas, Fire to the Prisons, Fuck Lend Lease, George Jackson, Gordon riots, Guantanamo Bay, Hugo Pinell, hunger strikes, indigenous prisoners, Informal Coordination of Prisoner Resistance, International Week, International Week for Anarchist Prisoners, International Week of Solidarity, Istanbul, Jessi Alejandro MontaĂąo, Jose Santiago HernĂĄndez, Keith LaMar, London, Lucasville, Lucasville 5, Lucasville Amnesty, Lucasville Uprising, North Wales Prison Project, Palestine, Political Prisoners, prison escape, prison revolt, prison riots, prison uprisings, prisons, Revolt, riot, San Quentin Six, trayvon martin | Leave a comment »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OSP Hunger Strike Enters Second Week.
Denver Anarchist Black Cross 